Every Week of COVID Lockdown Increases Binge Drinking

Harmful drinking among adults raises the longer they spend at home in COVID-19 lockdown, reports a new study.

Harmful drinking among adults raises the longer they spend at home in COVID-19 lockdown, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Based on a survey of approximately 2,000 over-18s in the US, the research is the first to highlight the link nationally between hazardous drinking and life stresses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the associated 'lockdowns.'

Alcohol Use Disorder | Alcoholism
Alcohol use disorder or alcoholism is an inability to control drinking. It can cause short term and long term physical, as well as psychological effects on the patient.

‘Increased time spent at home is a life stressor that affects drinking, and the coronavirus pandemic may have exacerbated this stress. ’

The findings reveal the odds of heavy alcohol drinking among binge drinkers - those who, within two hours, drank five or more drinks for men and four and above for women - rose an extra 19percent for every week of COVID lockdown.

The odds of raised alcohol intake overall for binge drinkers were more than double compared to those who did not drink excessively (60 percent vs. 28 percent), particularly those with depression or a history of the disease.

Carried out by authorities at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, in Dallas, the research also highlights that:

Binge Drinking may Cause Sleep Disturbances
Binge drinking causes sleep disturbances by affecting the gene that regulates sleep. It also causes significant increase in non-rapid eye movement sleep four hours after binge drinking followed by increased wakefulness and reduced sleep during subsequent sleep periods.

During the pandemic, binge drinkers on average drank four drinks per occasion, compared to two drinks among non-binge drinkers.
Participants who drank at harmful levels during the COVID pandemic would consume 7 drinks maximum on one occasion. This is compared to a maximum of 2 per session during the pandemic for those who did not.
Living with kids in lockdown minimally decreased the odds (by 26%) of turning to the bottle for people in general.

The study's limitations include the study data being self-reported and the fact the question on binge-drinking did not designate a time within which the alcohol was consumed.

Adolescent Binge Drinking Impacts Adult Behavior
New study examines how teenagers' binge drinking affects genes, brain circuitry, behaviors through epigenetics that alter the expression of genes without directly modifying them.

Source-Medindia

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